David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990 in Miami, Florida), is an American singer and a finalist on American Idol's seventh season as of March 2008.

Did you know that at the age of twelve, David Archuleta won the Junior Singers competition on Star Search? Pretty awesome! But this has led to some controversy, as some skeptics say that he is not an "amateur."

David Archuleta lives in Murray, Utah and is a student at Murray High School. If his bid to become the next American Idol fails he plans to continue school and keep singing.

The only regular job David Archuleta has had was over the summer of 2007 as a sound "techie" at a park amphitheater.

David Archuleta started singing when he was six because he was inspired by a Les Misérables 10th-anniversary video he was watching, "That musical is what started all of this." He started performing as an entertainer at ten years old when he participated in the Utah Talent Competition singing "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton; he received a standing ovation, and won the kid division. This led to David Archuleta competing on Star Search, appearances on The Jenny Jones Show and CBS' The Early Show as well as meeting the finalists from American Idol's first season for whom he performed a spontaneous a cappella rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls.

David Archuleta has a great resume and is making the most of his talent, wouldn't you say?

Source: wikipedia.com

David Archuleta is considered to be one of the front-runners for his series of exceptional performances.

After a rousing Eva Cassidy rendition of "Imagine", during the week of the top 20, all three judges praised his abilities with judge Paula Abdul citing it as one of the most "moving performances [she had] ever heard", and judge Simon Cowell adding that David Archuleta was the "one to beat."

Entertainment Weekly critic Michael Slezak stated that David Archuleta "[has] shown more star quality and stage presence in two weeks of performances than all the other male contestants combined."

The Los Angeles Times noted that David Archuleta likely avoided singing the first verse because "as a Mormon, he's unlikely to espouse the song's agnostic ideal ... with the line about "no religion too."

Source: wikipedia.com